Sixers hope to keep Raptors’ Danny Green in a shooting slump
Green finished second in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage, but is just 2 for 10 in the first two games vs. the Sixers.
The shot was a microcosm of the frustration that Toronto Raptors swingman Danny Green has experienced in this Eastern Conference playoff series against the 76ers.
Down 92-89, Green had a wide-open 26-foot three-pointer that he missed with 10.3 seconds left. He then fouled rebounder Tobias Harris, whose two free throws sealed Monday’s 94-89 win and evened the semifinal series at one game apiece.
For Toronto to regain home-court advantage, Green, whose long-range shooting helped San Antonio win the 2014 NBA championship, will need to come out of his funk against the Sixers.
In two games, he is averaging just 5.0 points, shooting 3 of 13 from the field, including 2 of 10 from three-point range.
JJ Redick has defended Green the most. In 28 possessions per game, Green is averaging just 2.0 points against Redick, according to NBA.com.
While Redick and his teammates deserve credit, Green has missed some wide-open shots.
“Sometimes they are off the mark,” Green told Toronto reporters on Tuesday. “A couple felt pretty good, especially the last three.”
On Monday, he shot just 1 of 8, including 1 of 6 from three-point range, while scoring just three points. Amazingly, he had the best plus-minus stat for the Raptors with plus-14.
The 6-foot-6 Green said he could probably use a little more arc on his shots. He also insists on having a short memory.
“Some games, it goes that way, and you put it behind you and think the next one is going in,” he said.
Green has been used to making clutch shots in the biggest games. In 2014, when San Antonio beat the Miami Heat in five games for the title, he shot 9-for-20 from three-point range.
During Toronto’s opening-series win over Orlando, Green shot 35.8 percent (10-for-28) from beyond the arc.
What makes his postseason struggles more surprising is that Green, a 10-year veteran, had his best regular season of three-point shooting: 45.5 percent in 80 games. He finished second to Brooklyn’s Joe Harris (47.4), who struggled in the Nets’ opening-round playoff loss to the Sixers. In five games, Harris shot just 4 of 21 (.190) from three, and after Game 1, he hit just 1 of 17.
Sixers coach Brett Brown was an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs when Green began his career and isn’t banking on the guard’s three-point shooting slump to continue.
“I know Danny Green well enough to know the chance of that continuing is small,” Brown said after Wednesday’s practice.
It is not just Green who has struggled from long-range. The Raptors shot just 10 for 37 (27 percent) from three in Monday’s loss. During the regular season Toronto was the sixth-best three-point shooting team, with 36.6 percent, while the Sixers were eighth (35.9).
“In Game 2, it was a big emphasis for us to fly out to shooters,” the Sixers’ Harris said. “Make them take contested looks.”
Even in Toronto’s 108-95 win in Game 1, the Raptors shot just 9 for 27 (33.3 percent) from three-point range. Still, Green is a major key.
“He is one of the best shooters in the NBA,” Harris said. “We have to continue to be aware of where he is on the floor all game, and closing out is important.”